Fountain pens



June 26, 1962 A. E. SIMON, JR., ET AL 3,040,708

FOUNTAIN PENS Filed May 28, 1958 IN VENTORS ,4L BERT E 5mm/v, a7: //e/MRD JC/l VAL /E/Pf tts 3,040,708 FOUNTAlN PENS Albert E. Simon, Jr., Gienside, and Richard J. Cavaliere, Philadelphia, Pa., assignors to The Esterbrook Pen Company, Camden, NJ., a corporation of New ll'ersey Filed May 28, 1958, Ser. No. 73S,406 3 Claims. (Cl. 1Z0-45.4)

parent or translucent such as polyethylene or the like and they have sealed delivery ends which must be pierced or ruptured in order that the ink contained therein may flow therefrom. The sealed ends usually include an integral thin-walled web or diaphragm which is pierced by suitable means; usually a tubular cutting element which, in addition, affords a conduit for the passage of ink from the cartridge.

Many attempts have been made to `develop `fountain pens of this type with satisfactory piercing means for operation upon the cartridge closure; such means being disposed between the cartridge and the writing assembly comprising the nib and feedebar whereby after proper disposal of the cartridge within the fountain pen barrel and rupture of its closure, there will be ydelivery of ink from the cartridge to .the nib and feed-bar, and provision for the ingress of air to replace the ink consumed.

The main object of the present invention is to employ means, including what has come to be known as a Renew-Point unit, later described, in one form, that will place the writing assembly comprising the nib and feed-bar of such Renew-Point unit in `communication 4,

with the ink contained within the cartridge. |This Renew- Poin unit has been successfully employed with fountain pens of usual type, that is to say, lthose having a sac for the reception of an ink supply or those which utilize the barrel as the reservoir. But the arrangements or constructions heretofore employed are not directly available for use with iluid ink cartridges closed by a puncturable diaphragm which must be ruptured in order that the ink contents may ow continuously and'uninterruptedly to the writing assembly during a AWriting operation.

For the purpose of insuring proper flow of inlcfrom4 the cartridge and ingress of air to replace the ink consumed, means have been provided that lie within the section of the fountain pen just behind the Renew- Point unit; such means carrying a tubular piercing element which, after lrupturing the cartridge :diaphragm when the parts are assembled, will serve for the conveyance of ink through its bore. ,These means comprise a body member carrying the tubular cutting element at its' upper end and being disposed with its lower end in relatively close engagement with the rear end of the Renew-Point unit. This end of "the body mem-ber is provided with what may be termed a cross feed; ycomprising slots of proper dimensions providing capillary channels for the passage of ink and air.

rllhe terms upper and lower as used above are purely relative and indicate the position of the feed member when the fountain pen is being used in a writing operation, as illustrated in FIGS. l and 2.

The lower end of the Ibody member is faced or shaped 3,040,768 EQ@ Y Patented June 26 1962,

in a particular manner in order to provide a capillary space for the reception of ink from the bore of the tubular cutting element, which ink covers substantially the entire surface at the end of the writing assembly unit. This surface of the body member has a rib or raised portion concentrically arranged and in relative contact with the surface `of the Renew-Point unit carrying the writing assembly. Surrounding this annular rib or raised portion are sloping surfaces; inwardly and outwardly thereof, and their presence provide the desired capillary space for the reception of ink. This conformation is of importance since, as the body member is relatively loosely held in the section of the fountain pen, there is some possibility of its canting slightly when the parts are aS- sembled. This canting, if present, will not affect the capillarity of the space which is, at all times of use during a writing operation, lil-led with ink. r[be cross slots of the body member cut across or through its central bore and provide channels of capillary dimensions for the passage of ink and'air from and to such central bore; the ink channel being rather deep andnarrower than the air channel which is shallow and wider than the ink channel. The body member is of two ldiameters ex` ternally and the upper portion, ofless diameter, receives a washer `or gasket lying between it and the wall iof the section to insure that no ink from the space above referred to will pass such member.

In the present instance the improved ink feeding means have been shown in connection with a barrel containing two cartridges arranged with their rear ends in abutting relation. It will be understood that a single cartridge may be employed which will be of greater length longitudinally of the barrel.

Theeend of the barrel is provided with Va sleeve, which may be of metal, and may be frictionally held therein; such sleeve having a projecting portion which is internally and externally threaded; the internal threads receiving the pen section and the external threads receiving the cap of the fountain pen. After the pen section is removed, the cartridge (or cartridges) may be dropped into the barrel and then, when the section carrying the ink-feeding means with the tubular piercing element is screwed into place, the tubular piercing element penen member and thence to the writing assembly. When tWO cartridges are kemployed and the forward cartridge has dispensedkits ink contents, the parts may be separated by unscrewing the section fromthe connecting sleeve and `the fresh cartridge may be set forward; the used cartridge being placed in the barrelbehiud the same. Then, when the section is screwed home, the tubular cutting element will pierce the diaphragm and ink will flow' from the cart-ridge. When not in use, the fountain pen should be carried in the pocket with the point section in the upper position. f

These and other features of the invention are more fully described hereinafter; reference being had to the accompanying drawings, more or less diagrammatic in character, in which:

FIGURE lV is a longitudinal view of a fountain pen; a portion of the same being broken away to illustrate the features of the present inventiorn'the section being FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view on the line IV-VIV,

FIG. 2, and Y dicated at V and receives at its forward end a tubularV extension 11, which may be of metal and may be fric- `tionally held in tight engagement with the barrel, Such extension projecting forwardly of the Ibarrel and being threaded internally at 11F', and externally at 11b.

Disposed in engagement with the internal Vthreads 11a of the extension 11, is the section 12 of the fountain pen which receives atvits outer end the writing assembly comprising a nib 13 and a feed-bar 14; the latter having inlr channels 14' and an air Vchannel 14h, and such parts lbe'ingfixedly mounted in a sleeve 15. This sleeve, with the contained nib and feed-bar, constitutes the Renew- Poin unit which is in threaded engagement, asV indicated at 12a, with the outer end of the section 12. In the usual arrangement, in the mounting yof such Renew- V Point unit in a fountain pen, the rear end of thersleeve,

such as 15, abuts a seat-preferably 'beveled-within the section V12, and the same arrangement is found in the present assembly of the parts; the beveled seat being indicated at 12b. The external threads 11b of the extension 11 receives the cap of the fountain pen.

In the presentinstance, the barrel of the fountain pen is designed to receive two cartridges containing iluid ink with their rear ends in abutting'relation and theirdimension is such as to permit ready insertion and removal. is shown partly in section in FIGS. 1 and 2. These cartridges may fbe made of any suitable plastic, which may be transparent or translucent; preferably of polyethylene, and they are more or less resilient so as to be 4 passage of Vink to the lower end of the same and for the ingress of air as the ink is consumed. Y

The rod 24, disposed within the bore of the tubular cutting element 23, has a relatively close fit therewith at its upper end, such tubular cutting element being disposed in the axial bore of the body member 20 and terminating near the upper end of such bore. Below this point an annular space 2Gb is provided between the wall of the bore and the rod 24, and such space is of capillary size and will draw Vink from the capillary space provided by the fiat side of the rod 24 and the inner wall of the cutting element and the bore of the body member 20. l Since a Y complete ring of ink is provided by this annulary space,

ink will be delivered to the adjacent cross feed slots (hereinafter referred to) regardless of the actual orientation of the two parts.

The complete ring of ink in the annular space 2Gb above referred to will cut olf the iiow of ink to the longitudinal space 24C adjacent to the air slot of the rod 24. Thus a hydrostatic lock is formed which prevents siphoning. When Vink is drawn from the pen during a writing operation, it is Vfu'st drawn from the longitudinal space 24 Y adjacent to the air slot of the rod 24 (since it has the In the present instance, the forward cartridge retained in proper relation within the .barrel of the fountain pen.

The forward end of the cartridge indicated at 16 and shown in FIGURES l and 2 in the Vlower position, is provided with a recess 16a which may function as a bore; having an outwardly flaring or tapered mouth, the inner end, of such recess Ittl being closed by a thin-walled puncturable web or diaphragm 16b which, when pierced or ruptured, permits the ink to flow from such cartridge.

Y The cartridgenot in use lies with its puncturable end in contact withthe inner rear wall of the barrel; the rear ends of such cartridges lying in abutting relation. Y

Between the inner end of the feed-bar 14 carried by the sleeve 15 of the Renew-Point unit and the diaphragm end of the cartridge 16, the cooperative means providing for proper feed of Vink from the cartridge to the writing .assembly and forming Ithe subject vof this invention is mounted. Y Y V Y The cooperative ink-feeding means include aV body member 20, more or less loosely mounted for axial shifting movement during its assembly in the section 12 behind the Renew-Pointl unit, 'and'its upper portion, indicated at 20a, is of less diameter than the main body. In the space between the outer surface of such upper .reduced portion and the inner Wall of the section 12, an elastic gasket or washerY 21 is disposed to prevent leakage of ink around the body member 20. To provide an abutment -for engagement by the diaphragmV end` of the cartridge, the reduced end portion 20@- of kthe body member may carry a disc 22, which may be of any suitable stiff material; preferably-metal.V The body member is axially bored, and such bore is "of two diameters. The upper and` larger bore Vportion receives a tubular cutting element 23,V frictionally and tightly held therein, such cutting element having a tapered or beveled cutting edge portion-23a.

`Within the bore of the cutting element 23 a rod 24,

Vgrooved at 24a throughout its length and cut away at one least capillary strength) and intermittent air bubbles are Y permitted to enter the cartridge.

'I'he lower end of the body member 20, which lies in a substantially single plane at right angles to its longitudinal axis, is cross slotted as indicated at 26 and 27 for the passage of ink and air from and to its bore. The slot 26 is deeper than the slot 27,l but narrower and forms a capillary channel for the passage of ink from the space 26h, while the slot 27 is wider than slot 26 and forms a capillary channel for the passage of air as the ink is consumed. The extreme lower end of the member 20 is formed with an annular projection 25 with sloping faces 25a and 25h, inwardly and outwardly thereof and concentrically disposed with respect to the outer contour of Y said member. This annular projection of the body member 2i) lies in contact with the inner end of the feed-bar of the Renew-Point unit, and the spaces provided by the sloping faces 25a and 25b will lill with ink and insure passage thereof to the ink and air channels of the feedbar. It will be noted that ,by virtue of said sloping faces, the spaces defined thereby have varying degrees of capillarity.

When a cartridge is in position, insertion of the VRenew Point unit and complete seating of the same against the seat 12b will press against the body member, imparting slight movement to the same longitudinally within the section and will cause the tubular cutting element to rupture the diaphragm and place its bore in communication with the body of ink` within the cartridge; the displaced portion of kthe diaphragm being pushed to one side as the rupture is completed, as vindicated in FIGS. l and 2. Following 4assembly las, aforesaid, the body member 20 is biased into effective engagement with the inner end of 4 the other channel Vand pass via theV cross-slot 27 and the 'air passage in the bore of the tubular cutting element; entering the cartridge to replace the ink owing therefrom. FIG. l shows the fountain pen in the position of use, and `in the operation of Writing, the ink and `air will flow simultaneously in opposite directions. l

It may be desirable, at times, to removeY the body member and wash the same in water; thereby removing anydsediment'that may collect from the ink that has been use i While certain features of this invention are shown in the drawings and described in the Aspeciication withsome degree of specic construction; such illustration and description are for illustrative purposes only and not as limiting the invention in any manner since modification and changes may be made within the spirit thereof; all of which is deemed to be within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

l. In a fountain pen, the combination of la barrel, a writing assembly comprising a nib, a feed-bar having channels for the passage of ink and air and a sleeve in which said nib and feed-bar are permanently mounted to function as a unit detachably mounted in the end of the barrel, an 'ink-containing cartridge having a ruptturable diaphragm sealing one end and disposed in the barrel opposite the writing assembly unit, and an ink-feeding assembly interposed between the writing assembly unit and the delivery end of the cartridge; said ink-feeding assembly comprising a body member having a through bore in axial alignment with the cartridge, a tubular cuttinD element carried by and disposed in the bore of said body member and adapted to pierce the diaphragm of the cartridge when the parts are assembled, means arranged within the bore of said cutting element defining capillary channels for the passage of ink and air; the end of said body member being provided with an annular ridge having portions sloping inwardly and outwardly to define ink receiving spaces between the body member and the writing assembly unit and having at such end slots of capillary dimensions defining ink and air channels; said channels providing communication between the ink and air channels of the cutting element and the space in communication with the ink and air channels of the feed-bar of the writing assembly.

2. In a fountain pen, the combination of a barrel, a section mounted at the forward end of said barrel, `a Writing assembly comprising a nib, a feed-bar having channels for the passage of ink and air and a sleeve in which said nib and feed-bar are permanently mounted to function as a unit detachably mounted in the end of said section, an ink-containing cartridge having a rupturable diaphragm sealing one end and disposed in the barrel opposite the writing assembly, land an ink-feeding assembly operatively interposed between and engaged with the cartridge and the writing assembly and mounted therein for limited axial shifting movement Within the barrel during assembly of said parts and being biased into engagement with the feed bar by said cartridge; said ink-feeding assembly comprising a body member having a through bore in axial alignment with the cartridge, a tubular cutting element mounted in the bore of said body member and adapted to pierce the diaphragm of the cartridgey when the parts are assembled, and provision Within the bore of said cutting element for the passage of ink and air.

3. In a fountain pen, the combination of a barrel, a writing assembly comprising a nib, a feed-bar having channels for the passage of ink and air and a sleeve in which said nib and feed-bar are permanently mounted t0 function as a unit detachably mounted in the end ofthe barrel, an ink-containing cartridge having a rupturable diaphragm sealing one end and disposed in the barrel opposite the writing assembly unit, and an ink-feeding assembly interposed between the writing assembly and the delivery end of the cartridge; said ink-feeding assembly comprising a body member having a through bore in axial alignment with the cartridge, a tubular cutting element carried by Vand' disposed in the bore of said body member and adapted `to pierce the diaphragm of the cartridge when the parts are assembled, means arranged within the bore of said cutting element defining capillary channels for the passage of ink and air; the end of said member being provided with an annular ridge to contact the Writing assembly and provide ink receiving spaces there-between of varying degrees of capillarity in communication with the ink and air channels of the feed-bar and having end slots of capillary dimensions also deiining ink and air channels; such last-named channels providing communication between the ink and air channels of the cutting element and said spaces and thereby with the ink and air channelsof the feed-bar of the writing assembly.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,802,448 Young Aug. 13, 1957 2,881,737 Young Apr. 14, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,073,346 France Mar. 24, 1954 

